


til kingdom come [HIATUS]

by jaembinn



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Utopia, Coldplay References, Coming of Age, Don't Examine This Too Closely, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, End of the World, Falling In Love, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Inspired by Interstellar (2014), M/M, Mindfuck, NASA, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Slow Burn, Time Skips, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22529848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaembinn/pseuds/jaembinn
Summary: Wonwoo and Mingyu want to explore the universe together someday, as astronauts, but the earth is falling down, and they don't know what to do.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	til kingdom come [HIATUS]

**Author's Note:**

> this is a oneshot fic so just a friendly reminder that i'll update this daily, adding the parts one by one. hope u enjoy <3

**New Jersey, 2004**

Jeon Wonwoo wants to be an astronaut, and so does Kim Mingyu.

It's mid 2004, all warm sweet summer, and Wonwoo can't help but to notice the honey leaking from Mingyu's child-like giggles and the sides of his lips. The tall grass' tip gets in the younger boy's mouth sometimes, and Wonwoo grimaces, shielding the grass away in a split second. No one or nothing should stop the honey leaking from Mingyu's cute crusty lips, and even if Wonwoo allows someone or something to do so, it would be himself. Wonwoo's the only one who can stop the honey, but he knows he won't, he needs something sweet to see in New Jersey's hot weather this day.

"Murph, get your ass over here," Wonwoo can feel the sickly sweet honey on his palm whenever he grips the shorter kid's wrist, Mingyu doesn't pull away this time, and he gets closer to where Wonwoo stands.

The younger one gasps, Wonwoo looks away just to avoid the leaking honey visual, "Wyattㅡ you cursed!"

Wonwoo furrows his eyebrows in fake confusion and notices the slow stream of honey from Mingyu's lips fading, "oh, I did?"

"You-" Mingyu pouts, his honey feet moves away from Wonwoo and the tall grasses, Wonwoo wants to follow but something about Mingyu's next words would definitely make him move his lazy limbs too, "don't change the topic, Wy. Tell me, are you gonna be an astronaut too?"

Wonwoo lets out a scoff, finally catching up with the honey boy's steps, "I didn't change any topics, just a small information."

"What? No," Mingyu starts to giggle again, his voice cracks and Wonwoo's lips twitch into a smile realizing the sudden voice change (he totally remembers Mingyu's child tone, and now that he's 6, of course a small change would barge in Mingyu's vocal cords like a train every year), "you changed topics! I even-"

Wonwoo stays silent, embracing the dimmed sound of the honey boy and it keeps streaming down. He can barely hear Mingyu's giggles, but they're there, and Wonwoo laughs just hearing the younger's inaudible blabbers. The honey, it's painfully sweet just to look at, and Wonwoo wants nothing more than a small kiss to stop the honey from leaking under Mingyu's nostrils and inside his wet mouth. Small, short kiss, nothing too much. Wonwoo remembers what his mother taught him, by not touching girls without their consent, and he concludes the same with boys, which means kisses should be treated equally too because it's one of the forms of touching. Is it wrong if Wonwoo gives a small peck on the younger's lips without him knowing? God, he knows nothing, Wonwoo's a sinful boy to do so, he knows not to kiss boys. Boys? Mingyu's not a boy. Kim Mingyu's not a boy, neither is Murphy Kim. Mingyu is just, Mingyu.

" _-hyung? Hyung, you're not listening to me again._ "

Wonwoo remembers Korean, of course he does. It's his mother language, he still dreams and thinks in Korean too, let alone being shaken off from a trance from a certain Mingyu in a short Korean sentence. The honey streams down even quicker this time, and Wonwoo blinks, the vocabularies stack into one system in his mind and then he jumbles all of them, switching off the English option in just a millisecond and he scoffs, " _as if you listen to everything I say._ "

Mingyu's expressions turn negative, the honey leaks start to slow down and it fades completely which earns Wonwoo hitching his breath, and the English language is back again, "fine, whatever. Mom's waiting, I'm gonna have to babysit Mia again. G'bye, I guess."

Wonwoo stops his feet from walking, but Mingyu continues, the backyard starts to feel smaller and he can make out Mingyu's striped shirt getting further and so Wonwoo answers. Mingyu might not hear it, but it wouldn't hurt trying, "yeah, I wanna explore the universe with you. Let's be astronauts."

The honey boy clearly hears it, but he keeps walking until his home's door opened and closed, with the big lump being taken away from his heart and Mingyu smiles. Either by seeing his mother carrying his two year old baby sister right in the living room, or just by imagining how safe it sounds like to walk through space, with a certain special someone beside him. He's not sure which, but he's okay with the latter.

* * *

**New Jersey, 2007**

Jeon Wonwoo is extremely good with physics, and so is Kim Mingyu.

Physics, to Wonwoo, is something elastic. He can stretch it the same way he does to bubblegum, slimy toys, or raw cookie doughs his mother always makes to bake in late afternoons, and it's visible right on the tips of his fingers and pencils. It starts back in 2007, physics books for kids (and a few of them, for adults) are stacked like mini mountains on his desk and they make a big contrast with Bohyuk's, his nine year old brother's study area. Bohyuk has a keen interest in colors, the wooden desk splattered with tints of yellow or soft green all over and one or two empty canvases leaning on the wall, with the rest of the canvases being filled in absurd reds and blues or abnormal people. They fight a lot, Wonwoo tells him not to accidentally spray more paint on Bohyuk's own desk, or with Bohyuk telling his hyung to clean the desk from those used electrical cables. 

They fight, but it's brotherly. It's different if we talk about Wonwoo and his best friend.

Mingyu is extremely, extremely good with physics too. For his age, we could say that Mingyu can and might even skip grades, being a few grades higher than Wonwoo but so can the older one. But if we put physics aside, Mingyu has a soft spot for life. Not the sociological nor anthropological parts of it, but the inside systems. The mini bacteria spreading on its own and the screaming dry flowers right on Mingyu's backyard. He reads books at home, but Wonwoo notices Mingyu wandering outside too often and it somewhat irks the older one. In a good way or bad way, he's going to find out by swinging his foot right on the side of the hammock and it hits Mingyu's head.

"Ouch," his voice sounds tiny, "what was that for?!"

"You're focusing on that book too much," Wonwoo slurs his own words, laying on his side, "listen to me."

The wind moans, Mingyu doesn't respond a hum and the only sound accompanying the backyard is the wind itself, his fingertips touching the pages, and the pencil's scratches being loud enough for Wonwoo to sit up from the hammock. He nudges his own shoe to the younger boy's shoulder, and Mingyu can only sigh.

"I am, jeez, Wyatt. I'm listenin'," Wonwoo smiles in victory just as Mingyu closes the book, "okay, biology and those stuff are cool. I don't like physics, still."

"Huh," he lets out a dry laugh, "try to be consistent, Murph. You don't want the Murphy's Law to actually happen to you, do you?"

Mingyu looks back from the ground in fake anger, and Wonwoo swears he can see drops of honey trickling down his mouth again, "the only law I approve is Newton's, thermodynamics, and.. any other good law. Don't even mention that one ever again."

Wonwoo scoffs at the answer, and he lays back down again to the hammock. He pinpoints the bittersweet smell of honey and the wet antics of the tall grasses being shone by the dry sunlight after the heavy rain a night ago, and he can see clouds forming into vague bees circling their nest, "you don't approve my law then?"

"What's your law, Wy? You're only eleven."

Wonwoo shields the sunlight away from his vision with his own arm, "and you're ten."

"No, seriously," Mingyu scratches the back of his head, "what's your law?"

The older one dangles his right foot, just rocking back and forth with a certain length and time and Wonwoo remembers Galileo's pendulum momentum, "Wyatt's Law."

he clears his throat for a dramatic effect and it seems like Mingyu fell for it, "number one, Murphy's Law exists. Number two, physics studies are cooler. Number three, there are no gravitational pulls between you and me."

He knows they're nowhere near to a true statement, especially the last one. They both know they're silently stuck with each other. They've been implicitly friends since Wonwoo himself could only blabber no's or bye bye's and Mingyu making grabby hands in his own stroller with Mrs. Kim sauntering around the neighborhood on Monday mornings, it's a lovely thing that Mrs. Jeon also follows the young lady and they sometimes talk about fresh and yet friendly gossips, Wonwoo being carried on his mother's arms never left his own eyes at the one month old honey boy from the stroller. It's lovely how years have changed, and the gravitational pull has always been there. Wonwoo doesn't realize the fact that he has a red string of huge gravitation, as if space doesn't exist between them and he always makes a step forward whenever Mingyu does. A step backwards whenever Mingyu does it first, and that's enough for Wonwoo to lie, making gigantic antonym sentences and he can feel a hard grip on his ankle, pulling him down from the hammock to the ground.

A huge thud resonates, enough to shock the church birds on Mingyu's backyard to fly off, and there's a giggle, "you jerk, biology is better!" 

And more thuds happen. Wonwoo chases him down without saying anything and the trees laugh, aware of the stable gravitational pull from the two boys. Honey keeps leaving traces to where Wonwoo chases him, and he breathes out a laugh, promising himself to stay close wherever Mingyu goes, no matter what.

* * *

**New Jersey, 2010**

Jeon Wonwoo attracts stars, Kim Mingyu tries to do the same.

Just like the way Wonwoo mends physics on the palm of his hands, he does the same to school. Not just with the subjects, but with the whole demeanor of everything around school. Nights before his first day of freshman year, he breathed out candy scents and he even had the the time to play around with his Nintendo. An hour stepping his feet in the high school's perimeter, he's already connecting soft strings of friendship with three boys. One of them is shorter than Wonwoo, in which he remembers the name was Joel Lee, seemingly having the same racial structures as Wonwoo himself and it's good to say that Wonwoo doesn't know from which part of Asia Jason came or had any relations from because Wonwoo's inner self is too scared to ask, and Jason doesn't seem like the type to blurt out detailed things about himself in the first meeting (but he'll find out). The other boy, same height as Wonwoo's, is Jason Wen who came all the way from China since early 2009, and it explains the distinctive accent rolling down his chin right after a word and it warms Wonwoo's stomach in a good way at some point. The last one, is the type that Wonwoo would avoid at all costs in terms of school parties. Name's Sean Kwon, only a few inches shorter than Wonwoo but he screams out happy-go-lucky energy with strong wide grins and cute eye smiles every two minutes and it creeps Wonwoo out a little, but he's sure there's a deep meaning behind Sean's behavior throughout high school until today. It's good, school's good for now, he can almost say that it's not the main source of stress like the rest of peers his age. He manages his grades especially with physics and chemistry, he has two or three girls looming over him (it's more, actually, and from both genders as well, he just doesn't know it yet), good and nontoxic friends surrounding him once in awhile, just a general easy life at school. It's good, Wonwoo's good for now.

Mingyu, though..

"Murph? Wh- what are you doing here?"

Mingyu's heart falters, hands quickly putting the hood on his head and his shoes scratch over the rough snowy concrete as he swiftly turns around to see his hyung standing right in front of the school's gate, expressions completely confused. The younger one wants to give him a hug, but he doesn't want to risk anything and he stays still, lips turning into a soft panicked grin. Mingyu's stature is taller now, it irks Wonwoo in some way but nothing's that bad.

"I, uh, I'm picking you up?" He cringes at the sentence coming out from Mingyu, painfully slow, it even sounds more like a question than an answer and it's enough for the older one to reach closer, waving goodbyes at his friends and he drags his feet on the thin snow and gently takes Mingyu's wrist, icy honey leaking on their palms.

Wonwoo breathes out a groan, pulling him to walk faster making the younger one notice the small puffs of air near Wonwoo's lips and he looks away, "Murph, you idiot. You should've went home!"

"I know! I know, I'm sorry, I just wanted to-"

"It's almost half an hour away- god, how did you get here?"

"The, um," he panics, avoiding eye contact and his index finger points to nowhere in specific right behind himself. Mingyu remembers the one and a half hour of walking in shame and it makes his lips shake, "bus. B- but, but like, school finished earlier than before because the, uh, our teachers had something like a- like a meeting so they sent us home at twelve. I swear! I swear, Wy, I had to- I wanted to go home with you, I can't go home alon-"

"A fag and another fag. Got a new boyfriend there, Wyatt?"

A few laughter erupts after someone's mocks tweaks more, and Wonwoo sighs out loud, mumbling a soft ' _come on, Gyu_ ' in their native tongue and Mingyu heard it crystal clear but he stops, adrenaline gets as red as his ears and his eyes are watering and he tries to let go of the older boy's grasp. 

"No- Murph, let's go, we need to go, don't listen to them," Wonwoo takes another handful grasp on the taller's vest, and the honey leaks now have a putrid scent, Mingyu holds his own breath and washes down the anger with soft footsteps following wherever Wonwoo pulls him to.

A blind alley. Almost two blocks away from Wonwoo's school, only a few meters away from their bus stop. As dark as Wonwoo's bedroom, just as damp as Mingyu's backyard after hours of rainfall in summer nights. Their breaths mingle, shoes keep scratching on dry puddles of snowflakes and Wonwoo notices just how cold February is in New Jersey, "explain why you had to run all the way."

Mingyu hitches his breath, eyes looking everywhere frantically but Wonwoo's, "I- I didn't-"

"You're good at memorizing every enzyme in your own stomach, fixing things, and even physics itself but I know long enough that you suck- like actually suck at lying, Murph. You've never went through bus rides on your own."

Mingyu keeps himself silent, eyes are blurred with unknown liquid and Wonwoo's emotions drop down, he can sense the honey stopping completely and this just brings the alleyway turn warmer in all negative aspects, "Murphy, hey- hey, look at me."

The taller one shakes his head, drops of tears trickle down and he's unable to voice out anything as his lips shake uncontrollably. Mingyu's throat feels pressured, it's like he swallowed a knife and he doesn't really know how to scream or even cry so it's just there. But all hell break loose when Wonwoo asks, "what happened?"

A split lip, blue and purple blotches around his cheekbones. The jacket's hood over Mingyu's head really does cover everything vaguely, the slight clues almost made Wonwoo scoff in pure frustration and so he takes off Mingyu's hood, eyes not leaving the boy's tears and bruises. Wonwoo regrets not taking a full look right at the moment he sees Mingyu at the gate, his eyes water along with Mingyu's and he just stays there, not knowing what to do with the emotions sizzling in his consciousness. The honey- he can smell the honey, but it's rotten, and Wonwoo hates it.

" _Hyung_ ," he finally sobs, mind and body forces himself to cling on Wonwoo's and he cries on his shoulder. He feels much, much more pathetic than before but this is the only relief he can achieve after months of holding it in, " _I'm sorry_."

Wonwoo still doesn't know what to say, but he hugs him back, drawing circular rubs on Mingyu's back and it hits in lots of ways. The boy's whimpers turn quieter this time, his eyes rain more of the stress that's been bundled up ever since Wonwoo not being in the same school as him and the older one sniffs the honey scent back again, " _why are you sorry?_ "

The one being questioned backs away, wiping his tears off leaving red marks in both his soul and cheeks but he answers, " _I had- I had to show up to you like this and embarrass y- you in front of people.._ "

" _No, this isn't-_ " Wonwoo pauses, a small sigh escapes, "-it's okay, Murphy. No need to be sorry-"

" _But hyung! School sucks, it sucks too much. I'm strug- struggling with my grades, Mrs. Wilson keeps on pressuring me to do well in physics and I know- I wanted to, I wanted to come and ask for your help but you seemed so busy with school so I just had to put it out all on myself and- and these, these boys! They've been beating me up every week since you left middle-_ " Mingyu whimpers, angry honey tears and soft smokes of cold air are out and he feels even more pathetic, "-school, school. I- I don't, I don't know what to think, Wyatt.. I can't remember what the word is in korean-"

" _School_ ," Wonwoo corrects softly, he takes a step forward before leaning up, pressing a soft kiss on the younger's cold damp lips and he pulls away slowly, only two seconds before any of them can process what just happened, "take deep breaths, Murph."

His breath clearly stops, Mingyu can hear his own heartbeat, the lubdubs switches into a louder noise from both his throat and chest and Wonwoo, on the other side, can finally see fresh honey streaming down from Mingyu's plump lips, nostrils, tear ducts, ears, and wrists. It's there, but Wonwoo's unconscious enough to not to notice of what he just did, it's as if nothing special happens. Do friends kiss? Two minutes, only Mingyu who's been thinking. We don't know for sure about Wonwoo.

"I'm sorry, what was- what was tha-"

"Tell me their names."

Mingyu flinches, "what?"

"Names," Wonwoo huffs, "the ones who have been beating you up like shit."

"Oh," the younger one sniffs out of tears, mind going anxious just thinking what Wonwoo would do, "Wyatt, I'm sure they won't-"

"..right. Max and the buff white kid, Dylan, wasn't it?" Wonwoo waits for a response, and he concludes the shocked frozen demeanor from Mingyu explains it all, exactly like an open book, "holy shit, what did their victims to do them in their past lives, really?"

Mingyu, on the other hand, is still emotionally unstable. Him running all the way from Hackensack to Wonwoo's school after getting beaten up, getting caught lying red handed, the kiss, emotions, school, Wonwoo, Wonwoo, Wonwoo here is the main reason at this point, "Wy, please, don't do anything bad to th-"

The older one chuckles in tears, "Are you, Murphity Murphy Kim, forgetting about the fact that I was the student president in your school? Jeez, Murph, you should've known better. What they did was fucked up, you deserved better and perhaps all of the precious people they've shitted on. It's okay- trust me, no one's gonna get killed, but they'll regret every little shit they've done. Expect them to leave you alone by tomorrow, you hear me?"

Mingyu whines at how hilariously painful his hyung's words were, but more tears threaten to come out as he nods frantically, "yeah, okay."

The older one notices just how bad the bruises are and he wants to cry more at that moment but he knows he shouldn't, so Wonwoo laughs instead, "come here, you big puppy."

Mingyu breaks down even more when a hug happens. His honey lips shake so much, they still linger with something he can't recall but they're indeed shaking, now wet with fat tears and he just can't control himself when he feels soft pats on his back. Mingyu can't lose him, not now, "Murph, listen to me, yeah?"

"Hnn."

Wonwoo breathes out a laugh again, "you're okay, you did well. Good things take time. Do your finals, forget about everything Mrs. Wilson said, do- do your best shit in physics, make her feel bad of her own words. And please, god- Murph, I am busy, but I would never put you aside with things like this. Talk to me. I know we're not in the same school anymore but please talk to me about anything, shits like this.. you can talk about it to me too and I'm right there, I'm only a house away, right?"

Wonwoo feels a head movement and he smiles, "okay, I might be shorter than you but my shoulder is pretty much.. strong enough for you to lean on, Murphy. I'm gonna help you out, whatever that messed up shit is. Be it biology, or cleaning the glass shards that you broke minutes ago. But I can't- I can't do any of this if you're not calling out to me, if you're not reaching out. I don't and won't know anything so please- please, reach out to me, snap me out and ask for help or anything, do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Wonwoo sniffs, backing away from the hug and he does another soft pat on Mingyu's shoulders, honey leaks more, "now let's get you home. Bet your bag is heavy?"

"This, um," the younger one clears his throat, wiping his tears off, "yeah, my legs hurt too."

"A'ight then, I'll get us home."

After an hour of walking, going through bus stops, helping Mingyu out to talk about the bruises to Mrs. Kim, they finally part ways and let their homes cheer at them proudly that afternoon. A certain Mingyu can't do things right because of a kiss, and a certain Wonwoo questions his own existence because of the same kiss as well.

But as long as Wonwoo attracts stars and Mingyu is the one who puts every piece of universe up there for Wonwoo, I think they're gonna be okay.

* * *

**New Jersey, 2011**

Jeon Wonwoo knows how scary the universe out there is, Kim Mingyu doesn't.

With faint honey drops lingering in the cold air and from Mingyu's nostrils, Wonwoo has been noticing how weird the younger one acts since these last few days. He scratches his wrist a lot instead of answering Wonwoo's heys or questions, he chooses not to eat Oreos while ranting about Biology in every Thursday evening after school which he always does before this weird occasion happened, he doesn't whine every time Wonwoo tells him to have a rematch on their Playstation games, he doesn't even talk back to Wonwoo whenever there are Mingyu's favorite things being badly mentioned. He's a lot more silent, and it's bad, but Wonwoo tries to take the biggest reassurance for himself that Mingyu might just be going through his puberty. But puberty doesn't really work this way, right? It doesn't change your whole personality nor antics, at least that's what Wonwoo thinks. Puberty is all about transforming your child-like emotions into adultery, and that takes pretty much a long time, and Wonwoo's still sure Mingyu doesn't have to believe onto his own hormones by not being himself completely. Puberty is all about those wet dreams at night, high pitched tones mixed with lower octaves, messed up feelings, jerking off just because of small things playing with your hormones, heights increasing bit by bit, slight rebellion, finding your own true self with clumsy steps, suggesting imitations from other boys, but never changing your own image from nature selection, that shit never happens to Wonwoo. It's normal, but not like this. Not like the way Mingyu answers Wonwoo in a rather one-sided way. Wonwoo didn't even ask a yes or no question, but the younger one says yes and nods his head as if he just plays along to Wonwoo's lines. There's this time where the older one asked, "where did you get that?" and Mingyu only answered a yes. They don't feel connected. It's getting concerning, Wonwoo wants this to stop, but he's too anxious to even ask him what goes on. School, was it? Freshman year might suck, Wonwoo is aware of that but they're both in the same school now, so it does concern Wonwoo to the bottomless pit of his stone heart. If any bad things happen, he should've known, right? Sensitive news spread like wildfire in Bergen County Academies, let alone some birds chirping to each other about bullies with a few people eavesdropping. Bullies.. Mingyu might not be bullied, right? Please, if he does, Wonwoo should've known by now. He's a sophomore, and one of the student council's members at that. Wonwoo should've known why Mingyu seems so empty laying down on his stomach near the edge of the treehouse's doorless exit, turning his Biology textbook per pages when in fact, today's actually the start of summer break. Mingyu never studies at holidays since middle school.

"Mind telling me what happened today?"

"Yeah," understandable, "no, I don't know. What do you mean?"

There we go again, "Murph, I thought we talked about this before?"

Mingyu's pencil scratches on his mini notebook for a few seconds before ripping it and continues to write more to the other page, his honey eyes travel up and down, to the textbook and to his notes, and he opens the other smaller textbook. Wonwoo admits he hates the scratchy paper noises being turned over and over, this seriously needs to stop, "Murphy."

"Huh?" Mingyu looks up, "oh. Yeah, what were you saying again?"

Wonwoo is beyond frustrated by now. He notices how the younger one keeps himself focused on the book, and it feels like one of those days where Wonwoo was being ignored by his mother at cold nights, "did something bad happen today? Otherwise, you wouldn't tell me to come to your treehouse like this."

The treehouse used to be their safe haven, much like the spot where Mingyu's hammock stays, or Wonwoo's rooftop is. Used to. It's weighty now, it's not a place where they can nonchalantly get in after a long day, especially when they were younger. Now, it's just Mingyu climbing up the treehouse and staying there for the rest of the night after certain incidents and pouring his frustrations out by reading the few books from the racks. Wonwoo used to casually let himself rest in Mingyu's treehouse even without Mingyu being there with him, but now that their gravity towards each other is vacant, Wonwoo feels disinclined to even touch the ladder.

Come to think about the ladder, Wonwoo sees small strands of sand dust floating near the exit of the treehouse, but Mingyu doesn't, "nothing bad, I guess. Today's a holiday."

"Yeah, but you've been acting funny lately."

"It is funny, lately."

Wonwoo squints, "what do you mean?"

"Things have been weird for me, I don't know, Wy- I might be hallucinating. I couldn't care less."

With this, Wonwoo's brain has thrown thousands of assumptions. Sexual orientations? Mental issues? Mingyu, just weirdly being himself and not being himself at the same time? No, these are all possible but it's too vague to even pinpoint anything, he needs more hints.

"Like what, exactly?"

There's a sigh, and there's another page being turned over, "it's nothing important."

"No," Wonwoo firms his statement, and he changes his seating position, leaning on the wooden wall right beside Mingyu and they feel physically closer now, "seriously, tell me."

There's a pause, but Mingyu is rather more focused on his writings now. There's a drawing of a respiratory system and little clumsy pointers everywhere around it, but there are random numbers being written below it and Wonwoo remembers there's no numeral formulas in biology, "is it because of the Olympiad?"

Still, no responses, "if it is, you need to move on, Murph. It has passed already and you can't just- let it take you like this, you lost then you lost. There's always a next t-"

"Ghosts," he finally answers, "I think there's a ghost in this treehouse."

Slow honey drips, and it feels like the world stopped for Wonwoo. From all these months, months of being ignored, months of Wonwoo trying to solve out the puzzles of whether or not Mingyu's just going through puberty, months of assuming things and turns out, ghosts are the main reason of all this? Wonwoo doesn't even know how to laugh at this point, "I'm sorry, what?"

Mingyu's fingers are shaky by now, he can't hold his pencil correctly but he still draws little lines and additional notes, more with the clumsy antics and Wonwoo furrows his eyebrows just seeing how the younger one doesn't want to keep an eye contact, "it's- it's, um, it's like they want to tell me something, they want to communicate to me through the books here, they-"

Mingyu turns over another page, "-they push the books from the racks right there, right beside the window and- and I know it creeps me out a little bit, but they have this certain pattern-"

"Okay," Mingyu's world is about to crash down, "you need to stop fucking around with that book."

Before he realizes anything, the older one grips the book away from Mingyu's personal space, a few papers are almost floating away and he swears he can feel his own heart drop to beyond the treehouse when a shred happened, and another one, and another one, and Wonwoo doesn't see anymore honey leaking down the younger boy's nostrils or wrists. He's beyond scared, but Wonwoo, at that moment, couldn't care less, "Wyatt!"

"Wyatt, stop! You-" a tear slips away from his precious eye with his arms flailing around to get the rest of the notes, "what the hell are you doing?!"

"Don't fucking move."

A sob escapes the young boy's honey lips when he sees his textbooks being ripped, and Wonwoo throws them away to the ground before Mingyu can even fight him back properly. His whole life has passed through, his whole work is permanently ripped to shreds now, just like the way glasses are breaking apart from his eyes, and he backs away. Wonwoo just did that, right in front of him.

"You changed," Wonwoo almost cracks out a laugh, "don't be like this."

"No, you-" Mingyu fully stands up, and he holds down his sobs, "-I changed for good, at least I get to observe more of what's happening around me. Ghosts or not, they're- they're there and I at least wanna try to help them unlike you! You don't even ask what's going on with me, I could've answered by then but you ignored me and I tried to give you hints that I wanted to have your attention for awhile but all you-"

He cries, and Wonwoo swears he must be lying if he admits that his heart didn't break, "-you fucking do is hang around with girls and get straight A's all the damn time, Wyatt!"

Wonwoo's eyes are full of tears, but he looks up and chuckles, this is going so completely wrong at the same time. Mingyu's been feeling the exact same thing too, with the same mannerism and behaviours as well. It's funny how he can explain that this is just a matter of miscommunication but he just did the worst thing, and he knows he can't take anything back, and he knows he can't explain shit, "and you're saying that I didn't feel the same thing as well? I was expecting you to reach out to me, Murph. All you had to d-"

" _You could've just talked it out carefully without having to rip my work off to shreds! You think the world revolves around you, huh? Newsflash, Wonwoo hyung, it's not. Not all people have the- goddamn bravery to do this, and you're out here destroying my papers as if my answer and work never mattered and- and- I can't even have friends at school, let alone telling people that there are ghosts on my treehouse! You think I can just- easily tell you what goes on with myself? You always tell me to- to reach out to you, to tell you shit, but you never even feel what really goes on with everything around you. So now I'm the only one doing the dirty work, and you'll just wait for me to fucking reach out-_ "

" _Mingyu.._ "

" _You see the papers you wrecked down there?_ " he sniffs before stopping himself from the big sobs, Mingyu's hiccups are as shaky as his index finger pointing down to the ground, right below the treehouse, " _that's the research that I've been taking to save this world. A huge famine is happening almost everywhere around you, hyung, please- please take a look. This universe is creeping me out, but not when there's someone giving me morse codes through those racks, giving me coordinates. I couldn't care much about school work at this point, this ghost-_ "

Mingyu wipes away his tears, and points shakily to the book racks on the edge of the secluded room, " _-this person is asking for my help to at least lessen down the reasons of why this world is ending. And now it seems like I can't- help anymore, you threw the papers away._ "

Wonwoo stands still, his throat flows away, a huge rock stays on it and he knows he shouldn't have destroyed Mingyu's life just like that. Especially when Mingyu ends that day with a reminder of the kiss, a seemingly one-sided love confession, and leaves the older alone on the treehouse with no more honey leaks. A sandstorm is coming soon in a few hours, and Wonwoo just realizes how much scarier the universe is than his own little problems.

* * *

**Virginia, 2013**

Jeon Wonwoo can be killed by unprotected exposure to outer space in less than thirty seconds, and so can Kim Mingyu.

It kills Wonwoo how vacant the classroom feels like, with no familiar honey droplets lingering in the humid air. Today has been challenging and boring at the same time, his sweaty palm struggles on keeping the marker on his grasp, his mouth feels dry but it's good to say that he just drank a good few gulps of water down his throat. His ears go red just hearing the boy in front of him scratching the pencil on the notes, silence dawdles just as calm as the Yangtze river. Life's not that good for now. It might be calm and collected, but it doesn't feel too good. Something doesn't feel right.

"Wyatt," someone clears his throat, it's almost high pitched and it warms Wonwoo's stomach in a good way, "what's the dynamic pressure again? The velocity head, my god.."

This, this what challenges Wonwoo for the last few months in his senior year. Sailor Boo, or Boo Seungkwan, has this polar magnetic shift on answering the questions on his own paper, he's been taught on the same few things over and over again, but it seems like Wonwoo's tutors didn't work. Dynamic pressure in centrifugal pumps? How many times does he have to teach him about this certain topic until his mouth foams with his own saliva?

"Jeez, Sailie, it's almost five in the afternoon and you concern me."

"Well, it's-" there he goes again, Seungkwan's exaggerated hand gestures, "it's centrifugal pumps, hello? You're giving me questions that I surely don't excel at."

With that, Wonwoo stands up from his seat, "fine, then. I'll leave."

" _Ah- hyung, hyung! Don't go.._ "

Wonwoo half smiles in a genuine spot, he laughs when he could feel the grip on his wrist tightens, and Seungkwan's whines really do make his day at times, even the korean ones. It's not like it makes Wonwoo cringe at some point, hell, this kid acts too much like a kid sometimes, but it's good to say that he feels rather content just seeing or hearing Seungkwan's voice after a long day at school. It's been going around for five months now, with Seungkwan asking for a tutor since Wonwoo's like the Greek Titan of physics in his own high school and he appreciates how much of a brave kid he is. This scene, is familiar to Wonwoo. He remembers how the younger one approached him on the boys locker room, and it ridicules him how it might've looked like Seungkwan's gonna give him a love letter but no, he just wants Wonwoo to tutor him with physics when they've never even met each other before that. A certain Wonwoo would've declined in a split second, but before he can protest, this boy has already gripped him tight on the wrist not to go anywhere unless if he agrees.

Right, that's kind of aggressive, "then search for the answer yourself. Your exams are coming up, kid."

"I know but you gotta help me!"

Wonwoo sighs at that, and he sits down, "okay, alright. You see the bulk motion, the kinetic energy?"

Seungkwan scrunches his nose, "uhuh."

"Its pressure head correspondent is the dynamic pressure, and that's it, Sailor. You know the drill."

There's a long pause, and a gasp breaks, "oh- oh! Okay, oh god, I think I get it now."

Wonwoo feels flowers blooming on his chest because woah, finally. A dry laugh cracks from his throat, and he takes a look at how neat Seungkwan writes down the numbers on his own paper. A good two minutes accompany the familiar empty classroom, and both of them can sense the humid sunlight shimmering through the window, although it's a bit darker and warmer now, much like someone else's honey leaks. Wonwoo almost shakes his head at the thought, and squints. Seungkwan better finish this now.

"Oh, last question," Seungkwan giggles, "very easy. I remember the thing that you told me."

The older one half smiles, Seungkwan's button nose really is cute when it scrunches on every laugh, "I better said good things."

"Listen, listen," Seungkwan almost snorts, but he clears his throat once again and starts to imitate Wonwoo's deep voice, "if the distance to the stellar object, D, is measured in parsecs, it's the power of per square parsec that enters a telescope on earth. The luminosity, in solar units, is a measure of the absolute magnitude. In general, Intensity propto one per distance square is the inverse-square law. Okay, you got that, Sailie? Yes, you better be."

Wonwoo laughs out loud, and it's the first time he feels this free just by expressing things out, "since when- since when did you even remember those?"

"Since I was born," Seungkwan huffs dramatically, "I was born to be an actor, Wyatt. A star."

The older one can only let out small laughs, stars being mentioned isn't really the best moment because it hits in different ways. He senses the fake honey droplets again, and he thanks Seungkwan for changing the topic to another world, "you kinda remind me of my cousin. He's smart, but not a good actor just like you."

" _Oh, why so sudden?_ " Wonwoo breathes out an awkward laugh, he doesn't need anymore personal information, he's known enough, "as much as I'm giving condolences to your cousin, I'm still Wyatt, no one looks or sounds like me."

Seungkwan's done with his own work by now, and he starts to stand up, putting the used papers and textbooks inside his bag and he thanks Wonwoo for his tutor today before mumbling something that might change Wonwoo's objective reality, "yeah, but polar magnetic fields exist. All technically different, but still the same nonetheless. You taught me that, Wy."

Wonwoo stands still, his limbs move everywhere to put the stationery back to his own bag, but none of them feel like it's actually moving. It's as if Seungkwan has slapped him with something that's crucially important, but Wonwoo still can't zero in on what it exactly is, "yeah."

The boy with the button nose pats Wonwoo on the shoulder, and smiles thinly only for a few seconds, "sorry about that, I just missed my cousin. Wish I could go back to my hometown."

Wonwoo tells him not to be sorry, and that it's okay to mourn for someone he's close with, especially with how cruel the nature goes on after awhile. With the universe almost being completely ruined as it is, Wonwoo tries his best to take his time by telling people like Seungkwan that it's alright to be like how he is right now. It's okay to walk out of school talking good things about his cousin when he could've just moved on and not say anything, and that's okay. It's okay for Wonwoo to mess the younger boy's hair before he leaves him alone right in front of the school's gate, alone with the snow tipsily falling down the earth. Wonwoo frowns when Seungkwan's back is gone from his sight, and he feels lonely there. He should be home by now but he can't. It's suddenly snowing, and it's still July in Virginia.

Mingyu was right, and Wonwoo cries at the thought.

* * *

**Wyoming, 2016**

Jeon Wonwoo is Sirius, and Kim Mingyu might be one of the brown dwarfs.

Wonwoo's life lately feels nonchalantly bright, but that's just it, it feels empty at times. He goes to cafés just to take sips of venti filtered coffee in afternoons after classes, alone, sometimes also with Seungkwan or Chan. California is indeed a good place to drink coffee after a long day mushing your brains out at Stanford. And yet there's still a broad cavity deep down somewhere around his chest, and he just can't find the last pieces of puzzles to complete them without having to smell the pungent aged cheese, or more like honey droplets near him anymore. Assignments are pieces of cake to him, presentations, frat parties, sending cold emails, befriending people he'd bet on, skills on computer science, road trips with friends on every holiday break, you name it. He mends college just like what he did to high school, it's too easy and it feels like something genuinely bad will happen to him. It's too perfect, and it's scary. Maybe not now, but he can feel the negative pull on his stomach, and it's getting closer everyday. He would probably cry when that happens, but at least he puts up an expectation for it to come; just so that it won't hurt too much.

"What won't hurt too much?"

Wonwoo's foot moves on the grassy damp land, and he laughs, a puff of air comes out from his crusty cold lips, "sorry, did I think out loud?"

Chan giggles, and Wonwoo's stomach warms up when the younger one leans towards him more, it's as if he needs full support whenever he laughs and it just warms Wyoming's autumn so much, "I thought you heard what I said."

Wonwoo squints, he swears he could see a flick of red coming from between the tall trees from across the calm lake, "about the whale thing?"

"Whale thing? What whale thing?"

"Oh," Wonwoo leans on the tree, "I thought you're talking about that one."

"No, I'm talking about the brightest star we have in our galaxy. I wonder if like.. it will hit the earth and explode someday."

That hits Wonwoo's nerves like a train. As much as he's a physics kid, he's also human, and he'd forget things that everything can be clumsy. Cats, his own fingers, chemical experiments, five year olds, drunkards, stars, and even that one certain boy from New Jersey. Stars can collide, and it might look beautiful from a light year away, but it's terrifying at the same time but when he thinks more about it, Wonwoo laughs again.

"You're saying that it's not happening today, Coop?"

Chan sighs, "what do you mean?"

"Nevermind, you're a law student. How am I even supposed to teach you-" Wonwoo air quotes, "-science stuff?"

The younger one gasps dramatically, and there's a friendly hit being thrown on Wonwoo's shoulder, "what the- Wyatt! I like stars, don't even judge me. What.. are they related to science? I thought they're from astrology!"

"Cooper Lee, god, listen to yourself."

The older one puts both his hands inside his pockets after pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose, "okay, first of all, it's physics."

Chan giggles again this time, and he covers his own face in pure embarrassment, "fine, fine, I know, I's just kidding. I know what physics is, I'm not stupid! I'm a Stanford kid myself, Wyatt.. please don't blackmail me for this-"

The spectacled boy clears his throat, turning up the volume of his voice, "Second of all, Sirius is light years away from us. And if it explodes or flies on the way here, the speed will be counted on light years as well. It might be heading on its way towards our place, like right exactly now. Right exactly now but it's like- it's technically happening in the future, but right now. And the day when it hits our earth, we'd probably be dead by then, even if it feels like only five minutes for Sirius. You get what I'm saying?"

"Ew," Chan's expressions are scrunched, "I hate time."

The sun almost sets, and it feels darker, redder, the trees wave their hands as a signal that they either should leave the forest or rest on their car somewhere else, the road trip should be done by now, "newsflash, time is just a word. It doesn't exist."

"Okay," Chan pouts, "let's stop with these trippy things. I haven't slept for a day now, don't make it worse."

With that, Wonwoo smirks, and he continues, "time is also-"

"Wyatt! Tell! Me! More! About the whale thing that you mentioned."

Wonwoo laughs when he noticed the harsh grip on his own jacket, and he messes the younger boy's hair as an attempt of relishing his adoration to this kid, "whales. The whale thing, it happened almost a month ago, you haven't watched the news?"

"All I know from the news is the cataclysmic blight, and that it'll claw its way to- uhm, California, in a matter of months."

Wonwoo sits down on the damp autumnal ground, and he pats the spot beside him as a signal for Chan to do the same, "you're painfully outdated."

When Chan sits down, he hit his hyung for the umpteenth time that afternoon, "well then- tell me!"

Wonwoo hisses as a joke, and his mind lingers to the day where he saw the news himself. Live news, probably on every channel from the entire world. Whales, just whales, and it makes him shiver how news about whales can make people feel terrifyingly anxious and cause riots on every area.

"I think it's around March," he starts off, "there's this news saying that there are dead whales found on Miami's shore, tens of it. Turns out, it's happening on all of the world's sea shores as well. Dead whales."

Chan goes silent, and he opens and closes his mouth for a second, "big, blue whales?"

"Yeah, I think they're now extinct at this point. Bet even WWF themselves are too scared to announce it, too many riots are going on."

Chan sighs, and the sun sets darker, "I hope Sirius can come sooner."

Jeon Wonwoo is not a quitter, he knows that. The second Chan said that exact sentence, Wonwoo nods, but his heart doesn't. He has promised to himself that he's gonna get out of earth, make things right for it, and just save the people in it. Sirius doesn't have to come, it can take its time carefully. Small precious things are still here, no matter how much the earth is carrying the hugest weight to ever existed. Wonwoo promised someone that he's going to explore the universe with him, and I know it sounds like a joke and they'll joke around if that ever happens, but now that the world needs help, Wonwoo can try to save it too, with his certain friend. But he frowns, Mingyu's not here with him anymore. Wonwoo might be bright, he's the Sirius, he can lead the way with his own flashlight but he needs someone to cover his back as well, someone to dim his burning light just like what brown dwarfs do to themselves. Mingyu was right, and Wonwoo was so wrong in the first place.

"Wyatt, do you see that?"

Wonwoo sees it, yes, the flaming red. It's between the trees, across the lake, and it's getting huger, "yeah."

"What should we do, Wy?"

There's a fire, and it's getting bigger. The lake reflects more of the red color, and it's beautiful, but he knows he should've noticed the trees that are waving for them to leave quick, "get back to the car, Cooper."

"Wait- what about you?"

"Go. I'm gonna tell one of the fire lookouts. Wait for me meters away from the gate, drive safe, okay?"

Wonwoo can see the hesitation on the younger boy's eyes after handing the keys, but he leaves, and it calms him down somehow. The trees are red, some are burnt and some are just crying for help, he wishes the best for the animals living there, he wishes they can find a way out before death gets to chase them down like dogs. 

But before he calls the lookout, he stands still on the edge of the lake, wishing for finding a way out of this earth with a certain honey boy, just; away from the fire. It's stuffy, he doesn't like how his soul drops to the ground, and his body follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is a oneshot, i'll add the rest of the parts one by one ! i hope u enjoy <3


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